Summary of “Xi Jinping and China’s New Era of Glory”

For five years, Mr. Xi has led a fierce campaign against corruption, which arguably was the biggest threat to the party’s long-term ability to rule. Not all of this started with Mr. Xi. China’s military expansion – its two new aircraft carriers, for example – is backed by decades of patient modernization. The shutting down of social media accounts also began before Mr. Xi took office, as did the creation of “Stability-maintenance” bureaus that have aided the crackdown. Mr. Xi’s father was one of the founders of the People’s Republic, and Mr. Xi grew up in the privileged world of China’s red nobility. Like Mr. Xi, for example, other leaders recognized that China’s naked capitalism left many people living unhappily in a spiritual vacuum. Mr. Xi has embraced traditionalism like no leader since China’s last emperor abdicated in 1912. Mr. Xi is not a Mao – the comparison has been made but is forced. The idea of the 64-year-old Mr. Xi retiring quietly in five years seems remote.